[NYT] U.S. Says It Secretly Removed Malware Worldwide, Pre-empting Russian Cyberattacks

That might answer the question about why it didn't seem like Russia was countering sanctions with cyber attacks.

 

Well, clearly:

1) the alleged cyber threat from Russia is a hoax
(2) this is the Dems again with big government spying on everyone
(3) this is a violation of Russian hackers first amendments rights
(4) now the Dems have taken over all computers so that their pedophile ring can locate victims
(5) Dems are using this to plan cocaine and alcohol fueled orgies with transgender children
(6) this proves that Hunter Biden should not have been elected as president

@Commodore @MojoMan

did I do it rite?

 

and trump wanted to hand Putin the keys with his cyber security

 

Likely would be citing EO 9066 that FDR created, that Truman later used to seize private steel mills. War gives the president some pretty wide reaching powers. The courts took the position most likely that war isn't defined enough with cyber and this gave the Biden admin or the FBI/DOJ the legal ability to say that Russia is declaring cyber war, and therefore they have the right to seize electronic private or corporate property.

I think the main issue here is for Congress to stop sleeping on the job, and create legislation that defines better how the executive branch is allowed to operate, and put guardrails around future abuses beyond just relying on the courts to sign off or not sign off.

But no there are no laws for modern cyber war and defense authorizations. Maybe Congress has figured out that they are better off having the courts be the arbiter of this process because Congress wouldn't be able to put a bill into law that wasn't then giving the executive branch too many abilities to operate without court orders.

 

He kinda did...I haven't heard much about that major Russian breach in 2020 since but now that we are crippling them with sanctions I guess that'll do.

 

Don't know exactly the answer to your question, but the change in 2016 to the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure seems important. http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/events/government-hacking-rule-41

"On December 1, 2016, significant and controversial changes to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 are scheduled go into effect. Today, Rule 41 prohibits a federal judge from issuing a search warrant outside of the judge’s district, with some exceptions.Traditionally, federal judges may only issue warrants that will be executed within their own districts. The revised Rule 41 would permit judges to issue search and seizure warrants for computers outside their jurisdictions, in two circumstances: if the computer’s true location has been hidden through technological means (such as Tor), or, in a computer-hacking investigation under the CFAA, if the affected computers are located in five or more districts."

 

I like your list but needed one addition and one correction

 

+ eat children

 

Knowing Congress, they'd probably write it like the Patriotic Act with wide sweeping powers.

In this case, we had a God among the clouds swatting away bot infested networks before they could be activated. It's amazing yet terrifying at the same time, so I don't know what kind of laws would be crafted in order to make this system less rife for abuse. Presumably our courts with their unelected judges are the last line of defense here...

Even the idea of secret court orders is necessary since you don't want to tip off adversaries but the government still hasn't built back any trust with justifying everything being classified under a nebulous existential threat.

You can argue that we've had an electronic turnkey-to-tyranny system since the end days of Dubya, so I guess it's on the public to vote in candidates who are trusted to use those powers in good faith and not to subvert democracy...or uhh incite capitol rebellions or strong arm state officials to kinda-not-but-really-fabricate vote counts.

 

Yes this is very much a gray area with secret courts and the ability to government to intervene in private businesses' networks without even their knowledge.

If the threat of cyber attack is so serious I'm not really sure what else could be done.

Unfortunately few things these days are clear cut.

 

Lol, this must be the Ads you cheapskates non contributing members click telling you how to save the gorillas in the rain forest

 

Right so back to my question of whether or not we’d want the courts to be the overseer of our constitutional rights and the rights of companies, or if we trust Congress to write a bill that doesn’t handicap the courts ability to be the signatory and instead gives the executive branch too many rights that the judicial branch then has no power to oversee??

I certainly don’t trust an increasingly autocratic right wing Republican Party to write that bill do you? Maybe if it was Democratic Party super majority where there enough progressives not bought off to have power over the process that isn’t dictated by Boeing, Raytheon, etc.

 

...that "Patriot Act" is the gift that keeps on giving...doesn't it?